ho chie's blog: 01.2004

Oh my. The sunshine has never appeared so beautiful as it does today. The intensity of the light is just bouncing off the trees outside my window. I'm feeling the warm fuzzies. It has definitely been way too cloudy in recent weeks.

It has been a long week. I'm exhausted. Thank goodness for Saturdays and Sundays. At least the ones I rarely have off.

One day, I need to disclose all the crushes I have or had... It's a rather large number... It's starting to feel painful.

Betsy and I have been working on a case presentation for tomorrow. We've decided to ham it up a little... here's a little taste... The season opener episode of C.H.O.

The parents of my favorite patient just informed me that they are planning on moving across the country. I'm going to miss them so much. I'm sure that I will reflect one day far into my Pediatrics career and know they touched my life and made me a better doctor.

Sleepless nights. Don't know why. *yawn*

I've been working all afternoon. Now I'm off to dinner with Margaret and friends...

Margaret is visiting. We both went to the Lunar New Year Celebration and caught up with the TACL and TAYL crews. I won yet another raffle prize this afternoon, but it was a book in Mandarin. I figured someone else would appreciate it more than me, so I gave it away.

Margaret and Anna.

Eileen and Alice.

GAP commercial: Anny, Charlie, Andrew, Mike, Alice.

It's the day after Lunar New Year, arguably the best holiday of the year for Asian people - at least the younger ones. I'm really wishing I was still a kid receiving red envelopes filled with a surprise amount of cash. Whatever happened to those days? I need some money! Where's the love?

This day is dragging on forever...

I'm busy with work and stressed about putting together several academic presentations in such a short period. One down, and two more to go. I try to fight my tendency towards procrastination, but I'm losing the battle.

On a side note, I've noticed this super cute med student around. Her reserved personality draws my curiousity even more. Oh, I must fight the tendency towards distraction, too. And again, I'm losing the battle.

I just watched vh1's Bands Reunited, featuring the 80's group Berlin. Funny. It actually brought a tear to my eye. I remember the summer of Top Gun, and riding the bus to TAF listening to Berlin's Take My Breath Away... Can't beat those days. So, now, I'm realizing how outdated I am. That's OK. Coolness in uncoolness.

I haven't had a full weekend off since early November. I'm getting a little grumpy. Off to work...

I'm hanging out with Tiffany and Crystal today. We've done dim sum at Chinatown, walked the Berkeley Hills, taken a steam train ride, enjoyed bubble tea at Berkeley, walked through the miniaturization machine...

Yummy fondue dinner at Laura and Joe's!

I was just thinking how much I missed those good ol' Snow Days. And then it dawned on me that we don't even have snow here.

On second glance...

Exhausted. Feeling blah.

Tiffany is probably coming into town tomorrow, followed by Margaret the next weekend. Nancy might be my temporary roommate this summer. Carol will also be hanging around nearby at the same time. Harmony may come out here for school in the Fall. I'm finding this all very exciting! Who else wants to come out and play?

A doctor's office can be a scary place for little kids (y'know, the shots and all). A child in the clinic today saw an opportunity to make a break for it and did so. I happened to be passing by the lobby, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a boy in a red shirt zig zag around people waiting in the lobby and slip through a closing door out onto the street. Just as the mother, nurse and desk clerk started yelling, I reflexively bolted out the clinic door, chased the kid down in front of traffic, and bear-hugged him back inside the clinic, while he screamed, kicked, and wailed like you wouldn't believe. All this in a day's work...

On a calmer note, I had a nice dinner with Susan and Lynna at a nice Thai restaurant. I've replenished my energy stores so that I can continue to keep the streets safe... and free of runaway children.

Nina looks toward East Bay.

San Francisco and Treasure Island from Mt Vollmer.

We drove around aimlessly this morning. The top of the Berkeley Hills was covered with clouds, so we ended up hanging around sea level at the Berkeley Marina. After some Cheeseboard Pizza (yum!), we are now chilling at the Old Teahouse...

Nina and I had dinner on Clement Street Chinatown, and then afterwards, went to watch Beach Blanket Babylon, a very entertaining musical revue that has been going on for about 30 years. The performers were quite talented. I'm inspired to check out the rest of the theatre and arts scene in San Francisco.

Nina is here!

It has been a long tiring month. I have had to work every single weekend for the past six weeks with at least two more to go before I get a full weekend off. I'm just plain exhausted.

I am, however, looking forward to seeing a few visitors. Nina is coming tomorrow for a long weekend, Tiffany is visiting the next, and then Margaret is coming after that. Plus, there will be the occasional dinner party with fellow residents. And of course, the Lunar New Year celebrations and events in the coming weeks. I, of course, will also have to host a gathering of some sort at my place soon. Let the fun begin.

How sad that I must remind myself that I can have somewhat of a life outside of residency. Well, with whatever time I have left after working 80 hours per week, that is...

Spoiled. Silly.

Surfing the internet and watching TV...

BBQ Duck and BBQ Pork are the hidden treasures of Chinatown. Yum.

For Michelle... Lesson #152 from Ho Chie's Book of Wisdom:
Be bold. Say something. Take facts and make it a story. And you will capture an audience's attention.

If I were a vegetarian, I would be eternally hungry.

Back home in Berkeley. I'm positive it is colder here than in New York. Brrr...

Cammy and I saw a couple of good musicals on Broadway... Urinetown and Taboo. I won't even try to explain the first one, but it was damn funny and very smart. And yes, the premise centered around pee. The second was definitely a voyage back to the 80's as it showcased the biographical story of Boy George - the guy who played him was strikingly convincing. And how it odd it was to see the real Boy George play another character on stage right beside him... I will never be able to listen to those classic songs like Karma Chameleon in the same way anymore...